Weather strip



Jan. 14, 1941. C F. sHLEGEL ETAL 2,228,368

WEATHER STRIP Filed Sept. 14, 1959 ezrATToRNEYS.

Parenteel, 14, 1941 2,228,368

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFifvcE-f WEATHER STRIP Charles P.v Schlegel andA Norman C. Schlegel,

Rochester, N. Y., assgnorsl to The Schlegel Manufacturing Company, Rochester, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application September 14, 1939, Serial No.29f1,874 4 claims. (ci. zo-fss) This invention relates to weather strips, and, found to be a good quality of commercial sponge more especially, to the variety thereof commonly rubber which may be readily. molded into the deknown as a windlace and employed for sealing the -V sired shape and permanently retains a substantial crevices and joints of windows and doors of strucdegree of resilient softness adapted to closely contures and the like, against the passage of dust and form, -to any surface against which it may be .6 the Weather. pressed. 3

One object of the invention is the provision of The body portion of the windlace comprises ,also a more improved and efficient windlace comprisan elongated cover strip I9 of textile fabricfprefing a body portion and an attaching flange so conerablyl conforming to the color of the surround- 10 structed as to afford high and permanent resili- ,ing surfaces, or ornamentally configured, as may 10 ence in the flange for maintaining the body por. be desired. This cover strip is-.folded substantially tion in sealing position. around the filler strip 9, with its marginal edges,

Another object is the provision of a flexible, ll, l2, extended in parallel, koverlapping relation unitary windlace of the above character in which to a substantial distance laterallyfrom the flller the attaching flange is longitudinallyv resilient, so strip, as shown, so as to form an attaching flange; 15 that the body portion may be bent smoothly and of any suitable width, having its parts secured touninterruptedly around corners or curved sides gether by one 0r mOIe 0f the means hereafter of a door or window, with the flange attached in described. fiat and neat condition to the support. f Interposed between the fabric layers I l and l2 To these and other ends the invention resides of the .attaching flange, is a layer I3 of a good'20 in certain improvements and combinations of quality of resilient rubber preferably applied as parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully dea fluid latex coating on the inner surfaces of the scribed, the novel features being pointed out in fabrielayers Il and l2 and extending inwardly `he claims at the end of the specification. therefrom partly between the cover fabric, and

In the drawing: 1 the filler 9, as at I4. After vulcanization, this 25 Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing a door `and rubber layer firmly unites the fabric layers Il and door frame joint having applied thereto awindl2 and is itself united -to theflller 9,v so as to form lace embodying one form'of the present invention; a thoroughly integral structure. SuchA rubber Fig. 2 is a view of the parts shown in Fig. l as layer affords a relatively highdegree of permanent seen from above; resilience in the attaching flange itself, and as 30 Fig. 3 `is an enlarged sectional view through bet'Weenthe latter and the flller` strip or body of another form of windlace embodying the present -the windlace, for pressing the vbody portion invention, and against the structuralv surface on ythe kside of the Fig. 4 is a similar view of larnodifled form. joint to be sealed opposite the side to which the 3;, The same reference numeralsthroughout the attaching flangeis secured, as indicated at l5, 35 several views indicate the same parts. Fig. 1. The flange is secured to the structure a Y This invention is vin the nature, of an improvef by 'any suitable fastening means such as the tacks ment'uponthe windlacedisclosed in United States i6. In this .embodiment of the invention the Letters Patent to Charles P. Schlegel, No. 2,103,697, fabric layers Il. and I2 and the interposed rubber ,10' dated December 28, 1937,'Weather stripping and layer i3 are so disposed with' reference to the body 40 method of making the same, and `is herein disportion as to project radially and concentrically closed, by way of illustration, in several forms, therefromS desirable in Some llllpliatOS.v as applied to the sealing of a door of an automo- In the manufacture of vsuch a windlace, the bile, body. Referring more particularly to the said latex coating may beapplied to the surface drawing,`there is shown at 5 (Figs. 1 and 2) a porof the cover fabric by brush or roller, or other, 45 tion of an automobile body having an opening 6 .suitable means, vas well understood in the art, for thereception of a door 1,'these y1:a`.rts` being the fabric surfaces then being brought together representative of any construction leaving a joint andy held in the 'desired' relation with 'the ller orcrevice 8 to be sealed. strip 9 in the final position ofthe parts.l In the 5:, One formof windlace embodying the .present useful application of the windlacejthe attaching 50 invention is shown in Figs. 1' and 2 as having a flange is laid in flat and smooth condition against body portion formed by an elongatedfflller strip, a surface on one side of the joint vto be sealed and or core 9, preferably of a substantially continuous, Asecured by tacks llil which are readily driven generally cylindrical shape, vas shown. One de-"U therethrough into the supporting` surface, as

sirable material for such filler strip has been shown, and in any longitudinal .spacing which 55 may be required to secure the windlace in place.

Another important principle of the present invention is embodied in the provision of a construction for the attaching flange which allows it to be resiliently extended or stretched in a longitudinal direction. This is accomplished by forming in the fabric layers of the attaching flange a series of longitudinally spaced pairs of slits I1, Fig. 2, extending inwardly from the marginal edges of the fabric adjacent the filler strip. 'I'he slits of' each pair are arranged oppositely or in coincident relation in the fabric layers II and I2, respectively. They maybe preformed in the fabric before assembly inthe windlace, or, in the embodiments shown in` Figs. 1-3, they may be cut therein while the latex layer I3 is still soft and tacky so that the latex on opposite sides of each slit will reunite with itself before vulcanization to maintain the longitudinal continuity of the resulting rubber layer.

This flange enables the windlace to be curved uninterruptedly around a corner or curved portion of a door opening or other joint, as shown in Fig. 2, the supporting flange being on the outside of the curve, as shown. The rubber layer stretches resiliently between the sides of the slits II which separate, as shown at I'Ia, and such yielding of the attaching flange allows the body portion of the windlace to be curved uninterruptedly in desired position, while the supporting strip remains in flat and smooth condition on the surface to which it is attached. The body portion thus serves, in effect, as the neutral axis of bending, with the tension in the flange which stretches to accommodate it. The construction thus obviates the sliding of the filler strip 9 in the cover fabric, or the cutting away of portions of the filler strip, or other expedients heretofore found necessary in prior windlace constructions for bending smoothly around angular or curved joints to be sealed. f

In Fig. 3 is shown a somewhat modified construction of the windlace comprising the saine parts, but with the fabric layers II and I2 and the rubber layer I3 arrangedl in a generally tangential relation to the body portion 9, as desirable in some installations, particularly where the surface to be engaged by the body portion is depressed below `that to which the windlace is attached, or to increase the sealing pressure of the body portion, or meet other special conditions. This modiiication is assembled and applied in use as already described in connection with that shown in Fig. l.

In Fig. 4 is shown a still further modification in which the filler strip 9 and cover fabric I0 are the same as those described in connection with the modification of Fig. l but in which the rubber layer, instead of being applied as a latex coating to the inner surfaces of the cover fabric, is in the form of two preformed sheets of rubber, I 8 and I9, which are interposed between the fabric layers II and I2 of the supporting flange and extended part way between the filler strip 9 and the cover, as at 20. These rubber sheets are preferably caused to adhere to each other, the cover fabric, Aand the filler strip 9, by the application of a cement or solvent of any known or suitable variety, Aas well understood in the art, and, in addition, the fabric and rubber layers of the attaching flange may be'secured together by a line of stitches 2l parallel with the filler strip 9. Such stitching, of course, may be employed also in the modifications of Figs. 1 and 3, if desired, to more securely unite the parts. In this embodiment, the attaching flange is disposed radially and concentrically of the filler strip as in the modification of Fig. 1, but it may, of course, be arranged instead in the tangential position illustrated in Fig. 3. It is to be understood, of course,

that the slitting of the attaching flange, as described in connection with the modification of Fig. 1, may also be employed in the constructions of Figs. 3 and 4, as actually indicated in Fig. 4 by the location of the sectional view at one of such slits.

It will thus be seen that the invention accomplishes the objects stated above. The body portion is of asoft, resilent material adapted to conform in close sealing contact with one side of the joint to be closed. The rubber layer of the attaching flange affords a high degree of resilience for holding the body portion of the windlace in sealing position, and the characteristics of this rubber material are of a nature to maintain such resilience with substantial permanency. The provision of a longitudinally resilient attaching flange facilitates even and uninterrupted application of the body portion in the desired sealing position, and smooth and flat attachment of the flange to the supporting surface, in a unitary construction and association of the parts which can be quickly and conveniently applied in use.

The invention has been herein disclosed by way of illustration, in several embodiments thereof, and it is further contemplated that other modiflcations of the construction and arrangement of parts may be employed within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

l. A windlace comprising a flexible elongated filler strip, a strip of fabric folded around said filler strip with its marginal edges extending laterally from said filler strip to provide an attaching flange, and a layer of resilient rubber interposed between the fabric layers of said flange and united thereto and with said filler strip, said rubber layer beingccntinuous but the fabric layers of said flange having spaced coincident slits ex.

tending inwardly from the edges thereof toward said filler strip so that said flange may be resiliently extended longitudinally to accommodate bending of said filler strip.

2. A windlace comprising an elongated exible filler strip, a fabric cover enclosing said strip and having its marginal edges extended laterally thereof to form an attaching flange, and a layer of resilient rubber interposed between the fabric layers of said flange and united therewith and with said filler strip to provide in said flange a unitary resilient support for said strip, said rubber layer being substantially continuous longitudinally of saidstrip but the fabric layers of said flange having longitudinally spaced pairs of oppositely arranged slits extending inwardly from the edges thereof toward said strip for resilient longitudinal extension of said flange during bending of said filler strip. i

3. A windlace comprising an elongated filler strip of relatively flexible soft material, an elongated cover strip of textile fabric extended around said filler strip and having its marginal portions extending laterally from said filler strip to prov.de an attaching flange and a substantially fiat layer of resilient rubber interposed between the fabric layers of said flange and vulcanized thereto and to said flller strip to render said flange resilient and integral with said filler strip, said rubber layer being substantially continuous longitudinally of said strip but the fabric layers of said flange canized thereto and to said filler strip to provide an integral resilient attaching flange, said rubber layer being substantially continuous longitudinally of said filler strip but the fabric layers of said ilange having spaced longitudinally thereof a series of pairs of opposite slits extending inwardly from the edges thereof toward said filler to provide for resilient extension of said ange to accommodate bending of said filler strip.

CHARLES P. SCHL-EGEL.

NORMAN C. SCHLEGEL. 

